The PBR1000: The February 2014 Breaking News Recap!

March 3, 2014 by

way to success

(Did February help us better understand the business and economic puzzles?)

By Larry C. Paxton

There was much activity in February, more than expected for the shortest month of the year.

The stock market recovered a lot of ground from the losses in January, some indices closing at record levels.

But because of severe winter weather across much of the US, the attention to the Olympics, and then the unrest in the Ukraine at the end of the month, there continues to be a lot of uncertainty.

The US housing market, which was showing signs of recovery is once again a question mark. The jobs market is still confusing and difficult to accurately measure.

FY2013 earnings reports started flooding in with mixed results. There are experts who say the stock market has a lot of play left for advancement, others are predicting a major adjustment. The earnings from the major retailers started coming in towards the end of the month.

Congress seems to be  more active, but concerns remain, especially with midterm elections coming up. The norm is that we will be flooded with a lot of negative campaigning. What effect will that have on business and on the markets?

ObamaCare seems to be gathering momentum with the end of March deadline looming for signups, which will be the true test. But it’s still to early to know what the real short term and long term impacts of ObamaCare will have on the economy.

As usual, following are the breaking news recaps for February that PBRMarketTools followed from The PBR1000, starting with the most current items.

Friday, February 28, 2014:
Chesapeake Energy(PBR206) is selling its midstream compression units for $520 million. Click here for the Chesapeake Energy press release.

Mattel(PBR366) to acquire Canadian toy construction sets company MEGA Brands(NR) for $460 million. Click here for the Mattel press release.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014:
General Electric(PBR8) to pay $1.7 billion to Japan’s Shinsei Bank for Grey Zone claims. Click here for the GE press release.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014:
SandRidge Energy(PBR699) completes $1.2 billion Gulf of Mexico operations sale to Fieldwood Energy(NR). Click here for the SandRidge press release.

Simon Property Group(PBR464) names Mark Ordan as CEO of soon to be REIT spinoff Washington Prime Group. Click here for the SPG press release.

Alcoa(PBR115) reaches power agreement for Quebec smelters, secure 3,000 jobs. Click here for the Alcoa press release.

Monday, February 24, 2014:
Eli Lilly(PBR119) animal health Elanco division is acquiring Germany based international poultry vaccine & feed additives company Lohman SE. Click here for the Lilly press release.

VMWare(PBR481) completes acquisition of mobile management & security solutions vendor AirWatch(NR) for $1.54 billion. Click here for the VMWare press release.

Sunday, February 23, 2014:
Comcast(PBR44) agrees to provide Netflix(PBR582) services to US broadband customers. Click here for the Netflix press release.

Friday, February 21, 2014:
Brookdale Senior Living(PBR689) acquiring Emeritus Corp(PBR961) for $2.8 billion. Click here for the Brookdale press release.

3M(PBR91) acquiring healthcare data analytics & business intelligence firm Treo Solutions(NR). Click here for the 3M press release.

Verizon(PBR16) completes its acquisition of Vodafone’s 45% interest in Verizon Wireless. Click here for the Verizon press release.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014:
Zale Corporation(PBR898) being acquired by Bermuda based Signet Jewelers(NR, NYSE: SIG) for $21/share, $1.4 billion. Click here for the Signet press release.

Facebook(PBR448) acquiring mobile messaging company WhatsApp(NR) for $19 billion. Click here for the Facebook press release.

Devon Energy(PBR267) announces $2.8 billion sale of Canadian assets to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd(NR). Click here for the Devon Energy press release.

Stryker Corp(PBR286) acquiring private hip arthroscopy company Pivot Medical, Inc(NR). Click here for the Stryker press release.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014:
Specialty pharmaceutical Actavis(PBR400) is acquiring Forest Labs(PBR483) for $25 billion. Click here for the Actavis press release.

Ameren(PBR351) elects Warner Baxter as president & board member, to become CEO 04/24/14. Click here for the Ameren press release.

Stryker Corp(PBR286) acquiring Germany based surgical infrastructure company Berchtold Holding AG for $172 million. Click here for the Stryker press release.

Broadcom(PBR309) selling its Ethernet controller assets to QLogic(NR) for $147 million. Click here for the Broadcom press release.

MetLife(PBR39) sells Assurance UK subsidiary with $5 billion in assets to UK’s Rothesay Life(NR). Click here for the MetLife press release.

Ashland(PBR301) is selling its Ashland Water Technologies unit for $1.8 billion. Click here for the Ashland press release.

Monday, February 17, 2014:
Anadarko(PBR192) is selling its Chinese subsidiary to Brightoil Petroleum(NR) for $1.075 billion. Click here for the Anadarko press release.

Sunday, February 16, 2014:
Google(PBR55) acquires Israeli security login startup SlickLogin. Click here for the SlickLogin announcement.

Friday, February 14, 2014:
Minerals Technologies(PBR1075) bids $42/share for AMCOL International Corp(NYSE: ACO), up from $41/share bid by France’s Imerys. Click here for the Minerals Technologies press release.

Apollo Global Management(PBR677) completes acquisition of CEC Corp(NR) & its 577 Chuck E Cheeses for $54/share. Click here for the Apache press release.

Thursday, February 13, 2014:
Time Warner Cable(PBR124) to merge with Comcast(PBR44) in all stock deal valued at $45.2 billion. Click here for the Comcast press release.

Wednsday, February 12, 2014:
Amazon.com(PBR46) hiring 2,500 full time employees w/benefits for US fulfillment centers. Click here for the Amazon.com press release.

FirstEnergy Corp(PBR169) completes sale of 11 hydroelectric power stations to Harbor Hydro Holdings(NR) for $395 million. Click here for the FirstEnergy press release.

Colfax Corp(PBR553) to acquire welding solutions firm Victor Technologies(NR) for $947.3 million. Click here for the Colfax press release.

Apache Corp(PBR156) selling Argentina operations for $852 million. Click here for the Apache press release.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014:
Time Warner’s(PBR94) TV Group acquiring 15 country TV production company Eyeworks. Click here for the Time Warner press release.

Monday, February 10, 2014:
The Carlyle Group(PBR654) is selling its plastics & rubber technology Veyance unit to Germany’s Continental AG for $1.9 billion. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

The Carlyle Group(PBR654) has sold its majority stake in India’s Cyberoam Technologies Private Limited to Sophos. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Allegheny Technologies(PBR457) has acquired precision flowforming company Dynamic Flowform Corp. Click here for the ATI press release.

Friday, February 7, 2014:
KKR(PBR257) is acquiring optical retailer National Vision from private equity firm Berkshire Partners(NR). Click here for the Berkshire Partners press release.

Thursday, February 6, 2014:
Belden(PBR905) puts in $220 million binding offer for private broadcast equipment company Grass Valley. Click here for the Belden press release.

The Carlyle Group(PBR654) acquiring the Industrial Packaging Group from Illinois Tool Works(PBR145) for $3.2 billion. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Verizon(PBR16) to list $500 million in retail notes on NYSE. Click here for the Verizon press release.

The Jacobsen unit of Textron(PBR208) buys zero-turn radius mower manufacturer Dixie Chopper. Click here for the Textron press release.

First American Financial(PBR486) is buying the Verisk Analytics(PBR969) mortgage fraud analytics unit Interthinx for $155 million. Click here for the FAF press release.

BlackRock(PBR269) acquiring 4th solar power plant from Canadian Solar(NR, NASDAQ: CSIQ). Click here for the Canadian Solar press release.

Mondelez Intl(PBR83) investing $130 million in new biscuit technology, closing Philly bakery by 2015. Click here for the Mondelez press release.

The board of General Dynamics(PBR89) authorizes repurchase of up to 20 million shares. Click here for the General Dynamics press release.

Wednsday, February 5, 2014:
CVS Caremark(PBR13) to stop selling tobacco products in all stores by October. Click here for the CVS press release.

Coca-Cola Co(PBR56) paying $1.25 billion for 10% stake in Green Mountain Coffee Roasters(PBR557) to develop Keurig Cold home beverage system. Click here for the Coca-Cola press release.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014:
Microsoft(PBR34) promotes from within, appoints Satya Nadella as CEO, effective immediately. Click here for Microsoft’s press release.

Morgan Stanley(PBR88) agrees to pay $1.25 billion to Freddie Mac(PBR32) & Fannie Mae(PBR11) to settle mortgage securities litigation. Click here for Morgan Stanley’s Form 8-K.

JPMorgan(PBR18) reaches $614 million settlement with US Dept of Justice, HUD, the VA, and FHA. Click here for JPMorgan’s press release.

The W.R. Grace(PBR623) board authorizes up to $500 million stock repurchase program over 12-24 months. Click here for WR Grace’s press release.

3M(PBR91) authorizes $12 billion share repurchase program. Click here for the 3M press release.

Monday, February 3, 2014:
The PBR1000 January Breaking News Recaps blog post has been published.

Bristol-Myers Squibb(PBR147) completes sale to AstraZeneca(NR) of its global diabetes unit for $3.4 billion. Click here for the BMS press release.

W.R. Grace(PBR623) emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Click here for the WR Grace press release.

Endo Health(PBR643) completes its acquision of specialty generics company Boca Pharmacal for $225 million. Click here for the Endo Health press release.

Regency Energy Partners(PBR1009) completes acquisition of midstream assets of Hoover Energy Partners. Click here for the RegencyEP press release.

Altria Group(PBR110) subsidiary Nu Mark buying e-vapor company Green Smoke(NR) for $130 million. Click here for the Altria press release.

Forest Laboratories(PBR483) completes the $2.9 billion acquisition of gastrointestinal & cystic fibrosis pharmaceutical Aptalis(NR), which will operate as a subsidiary. Click here for the Forest Labs press release.

AMC Networks(PBR1004) completes $1 billion buy of Liberty Global’s(PBR239) international content division Chellomedia. Click here for the AMC press release.

The The PBR1000 March Update Reports, the MS Excel reports with raw data, should be available in a few days.

What surprises are in store from The PBR1000 in March? Will it be a smooth ride? Probably not, but hopefully it is not too much of a roller coaster!

(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people with the premier key demographic, industry, financial, personnel, and comments/news briefs on over 1,000 of the largest publicly traded companies with principal offices in the US, companies that have a huge impact on the US and world economies. This information is updated monthly and published in MS Excel format as The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report. During a month several supplementary reports are published as well.

Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. PBRMarketTools is the marketing research unit. For several years Larry has worked for and provided products and services to The PBR1000 companies.)

 

 

 

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The PBR1000: The January 2014 Breaking News Recap!

February 3, 2014 by

businessman hand draws solving problem diagram

(Guess what? Many questions remain after the first month of 2014!)

By Larry C. Paxton

The New Year started with a lot of mixed signals.

Earnings reports for companies with fiscal years ending in December, 2013, started coming in with both encouraging and discouraging results. Economic indices like job growth, housing starts, consumer spending, and GDP were also mixed. The stock market exchanges were all down, as were most key commodities.

Janet Yellen takes over from Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman starting in February. What changes will she make, how will she handle the taper? Mid term election campaigns are already starting. President Obama in his State of the Union address didn’t seem to close any gaps between the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government. Will Congress pass any really meaningful laws regarding the debt ceiling, job creation, and immigration? Some severe cold snaps hit the US in January, what role will the weather and other nature related events play in the US and world economies?

Then there are the foreign influences. Significant tensions remain in the Middle East, China‘s economy is changing, there is some uncertainty about The European Union direction, compounded by revelations of the US NSA operations.

So, will February give us a better picture of the year ahead?  The  economy is still too fragile and there are too many variables for anyone to forecast with any accuracy. Prepare to hang onto your hats and enjoy what could be a rather rocky ride through 2014!

Here’s a recap on the stock exchanges and some key commodities for January. After the stock/commodity name is the December 31, 2013, price, then the January 31, 2014, price, and finally the percent change.

DJIA: 16,576.66, 15,698.85, Down 5.30%
NASDAQ: 4,176.59, 4,103.88, Down 1.74%
S&P500: 1,848.36, 1,782.59, Down 3.56%
Gold: 1,202.30, 1,245.60, Up 3.60%
Silver: 19.37, 19.15, Down 1.14%
Oil: 98.42, 97.46, Down 0.98%

As usual, there were a lot of mergers & acquisitions, selling and acquiring of assets, and other activities in The PBR1000. Following are the January Breaking News Recaps with hotlinks to the press releases. The PBR 1000 Ranking is in parenthesis after the company name, based on the The PBR1000 ranking at the end of December, 2013. An NR means No Ranking. The order of the Breaking News items is from most current to oldest.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014:
Google(PBR55) selling Motorola unit to Lenovo(NR) for $2.91 billion. Click here for the Google press release.

Hess Corp(PBR71) selling its Utica Shale dry gas acreage to an undisclosed 3rd party for $924 million. Click here for the Hess Corp press release.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014:
Verizon Communications(PBR16) & VodaFone(NR) shareholders okay Verizon’s $130 billion buy of Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. Click here for the Verizon press release.

Martin Marietta Materials(PBR850) is buying cement & concrete producer Texas Industries(NR) for $2.7 billion, to close 2nd quarter 2014. Click here for the MMM press release.

Monday, January 27, 2014:
KKR & Co(PBR257) is acquiring majority ownership in Sedgwick Claims Management Services(NR) for $2.4 billion. Click here for the KKR press release.

Liberty Global(PBR239) is buying Dutch cable operator Ziggo(NR) for $13.7 billion. Click here for the Liberty Global press release.

Friday, January 24, 2014:
Global Payments(PBR799) is acquiring PayPros(NR) for $420 million. Click here for the Global Payments press release.

Thursday, January 23, 2014:
IBM(PBR20) is selling its x86 Server Business to Lenova for $2.3 billion. Click here for the IBM announcement.

AOL(PBR803) acquiring Instant Graph creator Gravity(NR) for $83 million. Click here for the AOL press release.

Vulcan Materials(PBR729) selling its Florida cement & concrete business to Cementos Argos(NR) for $720 million. Click here for the Vulcan press release.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014:
Wells Fargo(PBR24) selling $39 billion of residential loans servicing to Ocwen Loan Servicing(NR). Click here for the Wells Fargo press release.

American Eagle Outfitters'(PBR629) exec chairman Jay Schottenstein appointed Interim CEO immediately, succeeding leaving CEO Robert Hanson. Click here for the AEO press release.

The Federal Trade Commission has agreed to let the Community Health Systems(PBR174) $7.6 billion acquisition of Health Management Associates(PBR353) proceed. Click here for the CHS press release.

VMWare(PBR481) acquiring mobile management & security solutions vendor AirWatch(NR) for $1.54 billion. Click here for the VMWare press release.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014:
Endo Health(PBR643) & NuPathe(NR) terminate merger agreement per NuPathe/Teva agreement. Click here for the Endo press release.

General Electric(PBR8) to acquire workforce management software developer API Healthcare(NR), terms not disclosed. Click here for the GE press release.

Monday, January 20, 2014:
Annheuser-Busch InBev(NR) to reacquire South Korea’s Oriental Brewery(NR) from KKR & Co(PBR257) & Affinity Equity Partners(NR) for $5.8 billion. Click here for the KKR press release.

Friday, January 17, 2014:
Actavis(PBR400) selling generics operations in 7 Western Europe countries to Aurobindo Pharma Ltd(NR). Click here for the Actavis press release.

IBM(PBR20) completes acquisition of privately held large data file transfer developer Aspera. Click here for the IBM press release.

Thursday, January 16, 2014:
The Carlyle Group(PBR654) to acquire Johnson & Johnson’s(PBR40) Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics for $4.15 billion. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Brown & Brown Insurance(PBR1036) to acquire The Wright Insurance Group(NR) for $602.5 million. Click here for the B&B press release.

Wednesday, January 15,2014:
JC Panney(PBR151) to close 33 underperforming stores, eliminate 2,000 positions. Click here for the JCP press release.

Monday, January 13, 2014:
Japan based beverage company Suntory Limited(NR) to acquire Beam, Inc(PBR748) for $83.50/share, $16 billion total value. Click here for the Beam press release.

The Time Warner Cable(PBR123) board unanimously rejects the the third acquisition offer by Charter Communications(PBR321). Click here for the TWC press release.

Google(PBR55) is acquiring Nest Labs(NR) for $3.2 billion cash. Click here for the Google press release.

Friday, January 10, 2014:
Target(PBR37) updates holiday credit/debit card breach to 70 million, updates financials. Click here for the Target press release.

Thursday, January 9, 2014:
The European Commission gives unconditional clearance for the Publicis Groupe(NR) & Omnicom(PBR182) international merger. Click here for Omnicom’s press release.

Endo Health(PBR643) selling its urological Healthtronics unit to Altaris Capital for up to $130 million. Click here for the Endo Health press release.

JPMorgan Chase(PBR18) is exploring sale of its corporate & public prepaid card business. Click here for JPMorgan Chase’s press release.

Mondelez Intl(PBR83) announces $1 billion cash tender offer for certain notes. Click here for the Mondelez press release.

IBM(PBR20) to invest over $1 billion in new cloud-based big data services unit Watson Group. Click here for IBM’s press release.

Alcoa(PBR115) agrees to $384 million settlement with the Dept of Justice over the Alba suit. Click here for Alcoa’s press release.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014:
Barnes & Noble(PBR339) appoints Mike Huseby as CEO, effective immediately. Click here for Barnes & Noble’s press release.

Forest Laboratories(PBR483) acquiring privately held gastrointestinal & cystic fibrosis pharmaceutical Aptalis for $2.9 billion. Click here for the Forest Labs press release.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014:
Microsoft Corp(PBR34) acquires Parature to add leading customer self-service suite to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Click here for Microsoft’s press release.

Reuters reports that JPMorgan Chase(PBR18) agrees to $2.6 billion settlement per its management of Madoff funds. Click here for the Reuters article.

Honeywell Intl(PBR74) to sell its Friction-Materials unit to Federal-Mogul Corp for $155 million. Click here for Honeywell’s press release.

Macy’s(PBR102) outlines cost-reduction initiatives. Click here for Macy’s press release.

SandRidge Energy(PBR699) selling its Gulf of Mexico operations to Fieldwood Energy LLC(NR) for $1.2 billion. Click here for SandRidge’s press release.

A. Schulman(PBR836) acquires custom colors & additive concentrates manufacturer Prime Colorants(NR) for $15.1 million. Click here for Schulman’s press release.

Oracle(PBR76) to acquire software-defined networking WAN developer Corente. Click here for Oracle’s press release.

Monday, January 6, 2014:
Time Warner Cable Inc(PBR123) completes its purchase of Duke Energy’s(PBR133) DukeNet regional fiber optic unit for $600 million. Click here for TWC’s press release.

T-Mobile US(PBR446) buying 700 MHz A-Block spectrum from Verizon Wireless(PBR16) for $3.315 billion. Click here for T-Mobile’s press release.

FedEx(PBR61) announces $2 billion notes offering for shares repurchase. Click here for the FedEx press release.

Crown Castle Intl(PBR755) to operate as an REIT effective 01/01/14. Click
here for Crown Castle’s press release.

Thermo Fisher Scientific(PBR204) to sell its cell culture & other businesses to General Electric(PBR8) for $1.06 billion. Click here for TFS’s press release.

Saturday, January 4, 2014:
Boeing(PBR31) comments on Seattle area IAM union approving an 8 year contract extension for 777X work. Click here for the Boeing statement.

Thursday, January 2, 2014:
Advance Auto Parts(PBR379) completes its $2.04 billion acquisition of General Parts International Click here for the AAP press release.

Macy’s(PBR102) & Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia settle legal dispute. Click here for the Macy’s press release.

Motorola Solutions(PBR285) acquires privately held Twisted Pair Solutions, known for its push-to-talk over broadband applications. Click here for the Motorola press release.

The February The PBR1000 Monthly Update Reports should be available in a few days.

Let’s see what adventures are in store for The PBR1000 in February!

(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people with key demographic, industry, financial, personnel, and comments/news briefs on over 1,000 of the largest publicly traded companies with principal offices in the US, companies that have a huge impact on the US and world economies. This information is updated monthly and published in MS Excel format as The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report. During a month several supplementary reports are published as well.

Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. PBRMarketTools is the marketing research unit. For several years Larry has worked for and provided products and services to The PBR1000 companies.)

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The PBR1000: January Supplemental Reports-Stocks

January 16, 2014 by

Invest Button 87976-20131105

By Larry C. Paxton

The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report for January has some additional supplemental reports available regarding stock performance during 2013, as well as a Marketing Capitalization report. As you can see, it was a banner year for Wall Street and it was hard to pick a losing stock.

As a reminder, The PBR1000 is a data set on over 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with principal offices in the US. These companies generated $13 trillion in worldwide revenues in 2012. The data set is published monthly as The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report in Microsoft Excel format.

Here are some summaries and comments on the supplemental reports:

– Report 1: The PBR1000 by Stock % Change for the 4th Quarter, 2013. There are 1,073 companies in this report. During this quarter the stock prices of 4 companies more than doubled, 8 companies increased 50% to 100%, 88 companies 25%to 50%, 392 companies 10% to 25%, 395 companies 0% to 10%, 133 companies 0% to -10%, 43 companies from -10% to -25%, 6 companies from -25% to -50%, 4 companies from -50% to -74%. In summary, 887 companies had an increase in stock price, 186 a decrease.  For the quarter the stock price increased 5.70% for the whole data set.

– Report 2: The PBR1000 by Stock % Change 12/31/12 to 12/31/13. There are 1,066 companies in this report. The stock prices of 2 companies increased by over 10 times for the year, Fannie Mae(PBR11) and Freddie Mac(PBR32). Much of this gain was at the end of the year when some heavy investors took the plunge. It should also be noted that AMR Corp, the predecessor organization for new American Airlines Group(PBR108) before its coming out of bankruptcy and merger with US Airways, also had the stock increase by over 10 times. 9 companies had increases of over 250%, 48 companies from 100% to 250%, 260 companies from 50% to 100%, 358 companies from 25% to 50%, 211 companies from 10% to 25%, 87 companies from 0% to 10%, 40 companies from 0% to -10%, 27 companies from -10% to -25%, 27 companies from -25% to -50%, 9 companies from -50% to almost -93%(Exide Technologies(PBR635)). For the 1,066 companies, the overall stock price increased a dramatic 33.13% for the year. A quick summary: Out of 1,066 companies, 973 were above 0%, 93 below. I hope you were in the majority!

– Report 3: By Market Capitalization(MC) on 12/31/13. For The PBR1000 the total MC of 1,073 companies on 12/31/13 was $19.395 trillion. The only company with MC over $500 billion was, of course, Apple(PBR6) at $504 billion. 7 companies had MC from $250 billion to $500 billion, 28 companies from $100 billion to $250 billion, 47 companies from $50 billion to $100 billion, 87 companies from $25 billion to $50 billion, 213 companies from $10 billion to $25 billion, 690 companies with a MC of less than $10 billion.

– Report 4: By Stock Price on 12/31/13. For the 1,074 companies in this report the stock price ranged from $ .24/share for Exide Technologies(PBR635) to, guess who, Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) at $177,900.00/share. Distribution was as follows: 50 companies with share prices up to $10.00, 169 companies from $10.00 to $25.00/share, 348 companies from $25.00 to $50.00/share, 387 companies from $50.00 to $100.00/share, 97 companies from $100.00 to $250.00/share, 12 companies from $250.00 to $500.00, 6 companies from $500.00 to $1,000.00/share, 4 companies from $1,000.00 to $2,800.00, and, once again, the monstrous Berkshire Hathaway.

It will be interesting to see which companies will rise to the top during 2014 as investment opportunities. The PBR1000 reports can certainly be a useful tool to provide some helpful information for investors to see where the bargains and opportunities are. With stock information as well as a lot of financial information and news briefs, The PBR1000 is also a great tool to help executives, sales and marketing professionals target the best opportunities, compare companies and industries, get bios on key management, and see news highlights.

These supplemental reports are free to The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report subscribers. Please let us know if you are a subscriber and have not received these reports.

Additional supplemental reports will be coming out during January.

(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people with key demographic, industry, financial, personnel, and comments/news briefs on over 1,000 of the largest publicly traded companies with principal offices in the US, companies that have a huge impact on the US and world economies. This information is updated monthly and published in Excel format as The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report. During a month several supplementary reports are published as well.

Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. PBRMarketTools is the marketing research unit. For several years Larry has worked for and provided products and services to The PBR1000 companies.)

 

 

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The PBR1000: January Monthly Update Report Summary

January 14, 2014 by

ID-100223410 2014 FDP-Needs Comment

By Larry C. Paxton

2014 promises to be another adventurous year for The PBR1000, with lots of fireworks and uncertainty among the many variables that affect these companies. That creates both challenges and opportunities for business professionals. Hopefully The PBR1000 Monthly Reports can be of assistance as we move through the year.

The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report for January includes 1,074 companies.

Total worldwide revenues in 2012 from these 1,074 companies was $12.975 trillion, net profits $.917 trillion, or 7.07% of revenues. They employed 31.4 million full time and part time employees worldwide in 2012.

At the end of 2013 The PBR1000 enjoyed a 5.70% increase in stock price over the last quarter, a 33.13% increase over the year. At the end of 2013 total market capitalization was $19.394 trillion.

The following companies have been dropped since the publication of The PBR1000 4th Quarter Progress Report of 2013(Rankings are for 4th quarter, 2013):

– Smithfield Foods(PBR199): Acquisition completed by China’s Shuanghui International in late September, 2013

– Boise, Inc(PBR730): Acquired by Packaging Corporation of America(PBR674) in October, 2013

– Dell, Inc(PBR79): Completion of buyout and privatization by Michael Dell and investment partners in October, 2013

– The Washington Post Company(PBR545): Sold to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in October, 2013. Remaining interests now held by Graham Holdings Company

– Dole Food Company(PBR516): Completion of purchase and privatization by Chairman/CEO David Murdock in November, 2013

– Edgen Group, Inc(PBR854): Acquired by Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation in November, 2013

– Nash-Finch Company(PBR470): Merger with Spartan Stores(PBR725) to form SpartanNash in November, 2013

– NYSE Euronext(PBR571): Acquisition completed by Intercontinental Exchange Inc(PBR1013) in November, 2013

– OfficeMax, Inc(PBR349): Merger with Office Depot(PBR235) completed in November, 2013

– Saks, Inc(PBR653): Acquired by Canada’s Hudson Bay in November, 2013

– AMR Corporation(PBR109): Completion of merger with US Airways(PBR189) to form the new American Airlines Group in December, 2013

– US Airways(PBR189): Completion of merger with AMR Corporation(PBR109) to form the new American Airlines Group in December, 2013

– Molex, Inc(PBR600): Acquired by privately held Koch Industries in December, 2013

– NV Energy, Inc(PBR662) became a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) in December, 2013

– Patriot Coal Corporation(PBR890): Emerges from bankruptcy as a privately held company in December, 2013

While there were a significant number of deletions, we also added in a few new companies. They are(Rankings for January):

– Acxiom Corporation(PBR1048): Business information and data processing services

– AMC Networks(PBR1004): Cable and other pay television services

– American Airlines Group(PBR108): Air transportation services. From merger of AMR Corp & US Airways in December, 2013

– Crocs, Inc(PBR1051): Rubber & plastics footwear

During the 4th quarter of 2013 17 new CEOs were appointed in The PBR1000. This does not reflect in the report because the month is not provided. We hope to add the month field in the future, however. There will be a number of new CEOs appointed in January, most of which will be reflected in the February report.

Earnings reports for all of 2013 will now start flowing in over the next few months. We will be adding those to future reports as they become available.

Other reports and opinion pieces for January will be out soon.

Enjoy the start of the New Year! We look forward to helping you by keeping good track of these key companies throughout the year.

(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people with key demographic, industry, financial, personnel, and comments/news briefs on over 1,000 of the largest publicly traded companies with principal offices in the US, companies that have a huge impact on the US and world economies. This information is updated monthly and published in Excel format as The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report. During a month several supplementary reports are published as well.

Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. PBRMarketTools is the marketing research unit. For several years Larry has worked for and provided products and services to The PBR1000 companies.)

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net)

 

 

 

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: , , , , ,

The PBR1000 4th Quarter Rankings: The Race to the Finish!

November 20, 2013 by

Hurdle Race 92784-20131105

By Larry C. Paxton

The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report 2013Q4 was released on October 30th to current subscribers of The PBR1000 and is now available to the general public. Please contact us if you are a subscriber and did not receive the email with the Excel file attached.

The usual questions pop up as we race to the end of the year. Who will have the most revenues and profits? Which companies will have the highest increase in stock prices? How will the retail sector do during the holiday season? What will be the final economic numbers for 2013 and what are the forecasts, or maybe that should be guesses in our still volatile times, for 2014? One of the many purposes of The PBR1000 is to provide some key data to help us with that analysis, and for many of us to help figure out how to position ourselves to be more successful in the future.

Highlights from The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report 2013Q4 include:

  • Most data is through the end of the 3rd calendar quarter, September 30.
  • There are some data and Comments/News Briefs from October.
  • The number of companies included is 1,082.
  • New fields added include the current CEO and the year they became CEO.
  • The CEO name is hotlinked to a brief biography, generally from the corporate website.
  • The “C” column before the “Company Name” column designates the number of comments/news briefs for that company in the “Comments/News Briefs” column.

The Top 10 The PBR1000 Companies by stock price gains year to date are(Name/PBR Ranking/% gain YTD through Sept. 30th/% gain YTD through Nov. 15th):

  • AMR Corp(dba American Airlines)/109/414%/1371%
  • Fannie Mae/11/404%/1169%
  • Freddie Mac/32/385%/1085%
  • SunPower Corp/768/365%/496%
  • Zale Corp/908/270%/285%
  • Rite Aid Corp/104/250%/287%
  • Netflix/588/234%/278%
  • SuperValu/149/233%/179%
  • Best Buy/54/216%/269%
  • Caesar’s Entertainment/291/184%/187%

Similarly, The PBR1000 reports include some stock exchanges and commodities. Percent changes year to date through Sept. 30th and Nov. 15th are:

  • DJIA/15%/22%
  • NASDAQ/25%/32%
  • S&P 500/18%/26%
  • Gold/-21%/-23%
  • Silver/-28%/-32%
  • Oil/9%/0%

The PBR1000 Index is calculated by totaling up stock prices for a period for all companies tracked. Because Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) has a significant impact on this index it is quoted with and without Berkshire Hathaway(“BH”). It is interesting to compare The PBR1000 Index with the other indices. Here are The PBR1000 index numbers percentage change for September 30, 2013, compared to December 31, 2012:

  • The PBR1000 with BH: 26%
  • The PBR1000 without BH: 23%

Note that percents are expressed in whole numbers. In the actual reports they are rounded to the nearest 2 decimal places.

The following additional reports will be released over the next few weeks, and more are being planned based on The PBR1000 subscriber feedback. These are free for The PBR1000 subscribers and available for a nominal fee for non-subscribers.

  • The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report by Industry
  • The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report by State

Companies removed from The PBR1000 during the 3rd quarter and reason for removal are(In alpha order, Company/PBR 3rd Quarter Rank/Reason):

  • BMC Software/816/Taken private by a consortium of equity companies
  • Gardner Denver/773/Acquired by KKR(PBR259)
  • Smithfield Foods/199/Acquired by Chinese company Shuanghui International
  • TMS International/736/Acquired by the Pritzker Organization
  • Vanguard Health Systems/366/Acquired by Tenet Healthcare(PBR255)

In October and November a lot of activity has already occurred. For example, Dell has gone private, and Office Depot and OfficeMax have merged. Check out The PBR1000 Breaking News on the www.PBRMarketTools.com home page and for recaps on the Blog page.

We are entering the holiday season. We will continue to update the PBRMarketTools homepage with breaking news, make available supplemental reports during the quarter, and look forward to providing the next The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report early in 2014.

Please have a Happy and Blessed Holiday Season!

(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people  with key demographic, industry, financial, personnel, and comments/news briefs on over 1,000 publicly traded companies with principal offices in the US. This information is updated quarterly and published in Excel format as The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report. During a quarter several supplementary reports are published as well.

Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. PBRMarketTools is the marketing research unit. For several years Larry has worked for and provided products and services to The PBR1000 companies.)

Filed Under: Rankings Tagged With: , , , , , ,

CEO Longevity in The PBR1000 – September 2013

September 25, 2013 by

Leader Pic 70520-20130920

By Larry C. Paxton

Knowing the characteristics of a company’s leadership can be key to having a higher probability of success when you desire to consult, sell/market to/for, or have an interest in a job at a large company. Here are some observations on CEOs based on a compilation by the PBRMarketTools.com team based on The PBR1000, which currently contains key demographic, financial, industry, and people data on 1002 of the largest publicly traded US corporations. This article will focus on longevity of CEOs in these companies. Additional articles about CEOs will follow in the coming months.

By year in descending order here are the current counts of CEOs who have been appointed:

  • 2013(through August 31): 76 CEOs appointed
  • 2012: 97
  • 2011: 93
  • 2010: 85
  • 2009: 69(420 total over 4 2/3 years, 90 CEO appointments average/year)
  • 2004-2008: 301(5 years, 60 CEO appointments average/year)
  • Before 2004: 281

The longest serving CEO in The PBR1000 is Leslie Wexner, Chairman/CEO and Founder of L Brands (PBR239), serving since 1963.

The median year for the 1002 CEOs is 2007. But keep in mind that 485 CEOs, just under half, took on that position between 2008 and August, 2013.  By the end of 2013 the median year should be 2008.

In terms of revenues in the top 100 companies, basically those who did over $27 billion in FY2012, half of the CEOs came on board between 2009 and the end of August this year. CEOs in companies that did around $1.8 billion to $27 billion had a median start date in 2007, and CEOs in companies that did $1 billion to around $1.8 billion had the longest median appointment year of 2005.

CEOs is some key industries have interesting longevities. Here are some examples:

  • SIC 1520-1540, basically general building contractors, 7 companies, median CEO appointment year: 2003
  • SIC 2000, food and kindred products, 7 companies, 2012
  • SIC 2911, petroleum refining, 13 companies, 2010
  • SIC 3310-3357, steel manufacturing, 17 companies, 2009
  • SIC 3411-3490, basically metal fabrication, 11 companies, 2004
  • SIC 3711-3790, transportation manufacturing, 37 companies, 2009
  • SIC 4512-4522, air transportation, 12 companies, 2004
  • SIC 6200-6282, investment services, 24 companies, 2005
  • SIC 6798, real estate investment trusts, 19 companies, 2002
  • SIC 7011, hotels/motels, 10 companies, 2005
  • Sic 7370-7374, software programming services(Google, Facebook, …), 28 companies, 2008
  • SIC 8050-8090, hospitals and health care related services, 17 companies, 2004

The top 6 states, accounting for 480 of the 1002 The PBR1000 companies, had the following average median CEO appointment year(State, The PBR1000 company count, median CEO appointment year):

  • California, 108, 2007
  • Texas, 102, 2007
  • New York, 98, 2006
  • Illinois, 67, 2008
  • Ohio, 55, 2007
  • Pennsylvania, 50, 2010

Bottom line, by the end of this year, around 50% of CEOs in The PBR1000 will have been in their job for 6 years or less, meaning, of course, the other 50% for 7 years or more.

How does that compare to the average American worker? According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute the median length of time in a job for an American worker in 2012 was 5.4 years, which is slightly more than the 5 years median in 1983.

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on all this and we will have more reports about CEOs coming out on a regular basis.

More details are available in The PBR1000 CEO Longevity Report which is a series of Microsoft EXCEL worksheets that includes each company’s CEO name, other titles they hold in the company, year they became CEO, and a hotlink to a brief biography about them. Just go to www.PBRMarketTools.com and follow the link to the Order page.

Larry Paxton is the President/CEO and founder of Pax Business Resources, LLC(PBR). www.PBRMarketTools.com is the marketing research arm of the company. In the past he has worked for a couple of The PBR1000 companies and provided a variety of products and services to many of them over the years. PBR is in its 4th year. Larry looks forward to being in that median group of CEOs with 7 years of service or more on the job.

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: , , , , ,

The PBR1000 Breaking News Review: July/August, 2013

September 5, 2013 by

Corporate Hand Shake ID-100182354

(Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

By Larry C. Paxton

The summer months of July and August were busy ones with lots of deals affecting The PBR1000, some of them with some significant controversy. Unless specified otherwise, the ranking(in parentheses after the company name) is based on The PBR1000 3rd Quarter Progress Report. Here’s the recap, sorted by the most recent news date:

August 25, 2013: Amgen Inc(PBR151) to acquire Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc(NASDAQ: ONXX, $362 million in revenues in 2012) for $125/share, $10.4 billion all cash deal, expecting to close during early 4th quarter 2013. Will give Amgen some additional cancer medications and research.

August 23, 2013: Steve Ballmer, CEO since 2000 for Microsoft Corporation(PBR34), announced today that he will be retiring sometime within the next 12 months.

August 20, 2013: After filing for protection in January, 2012, today Eastman Kodak Company(PBR527) received approval from the US Bankruptcy Court of its Chapter 11 Reorganization Plan. According to CEO Antonio Perez the goal is to emerge from bankruptcy on September 3, 2013, and focus on being a technology leader serving large and growing commercial imaging markets such as commercial printing, packaging, functional printing, and professional services.

August 7, 2013: AOL Inc(PBR807) to acquire Adap.tv, Inc., a leading global, programmatic video advertising platform for the world’s largest brands, agencies, and publishers. Deal valued at $405 million, $322 million in cash, $83 million in AOL common stock. Deal expected to close during 3rd quarter 2013.

August 5, 2013: The Washington Post Company(PBR542) announced today that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, Inc.(PBR47), in a separate personal transaction valued at $250 million, will be acquiring the company. The transaction includes the main paper and some other smaller publications, but not all entities of the company. It is expected that the deal will be completed before the end of 2013.

August 2, 2013: The New York Times Company(PBR870) agreed to sell off its New England Media Group, which includes The Boston Globe and related holdings, to John W. Henry, sports entrepreneur and principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, for $70 million cash. The deal is expected to close in 30-60 days.

July 30, 2013: KKR & Co, LP(PBR258) completes acquisition of Gardner Denver, Inc(PBR773) for $3.9 billion, plus assumption of debt.

July 30, 2013: Community Health Systems(PBR174) to buy Health Management Associates(PBR354) for $13.78/share, deal valued at $7.6 billion, which includes HMA debt of $3.7 billion. Deal expected to close by end of 1st quarter 2014.

July 29, 2013: US drug maker Perrigo(PBR620) to buy Ireland based biotech firm Elan(NYSE: ELN) in $8.4 billion deal.

July 29, 2013: Canadian retailer giant Hudson Bay(parent of Lord & Taylor) to buy Saks, Inc(PBR646) for $2.6 billion.

July 28, 2013: Omnicom Group Inc(PBR182) and Publicis Groupe SA(Paris, France) announce definitive agreement to merge and form Publicis Omnicom Group, a holding company based in the Netherlands with head offices in Paris and New York City. It will be the largest communications, advertising, marketing and digital services company in the world. Transaction valued at $35 billion, expected to close during 4th quarter 2013 or 1st quarter 2014.

July 24, 2013: HanesBrands Inc(PBR489) to buy Maidenform Brands, Inc(NYSE: MFB, $600MM revenues in 2012) for $23.50/share, $575 million total deal value.

July 12, 2013: AT&T(PBR12) reaches agreement to acquire LEAP Wireless(PBR625) for $15/share, $1.2 billion, expected to close in 6-9 months.

July 10, 2013: Japan’s SoftBank Corp completes its $21.6 billion acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corp(PBR83-2Q13), renames it to Sprint Corporation(PBR82), will continue trading under stock symbol S.

July 9, 2013: Kroger Co(PBR26) announced that it is acquiring the upper end 212 store chain Harris Teeter Supermarkets(PBR487) for $49.38/share, $2.44 billion transaction value, to close during 2013.

July 2, 2013: Coinstar, Inc.(PBR807-2Q13), changes name to Outerwall, Inc.(PBR804), still trading on NASDAQ with new symbol OUTR, new website, continues to provide Coinstar, ATM, and RedBox services.

Larry Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. The marketing research division, www.PBRMarketTools.com, produces the popular The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Report.

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Will the US Airways/American Airlines Merger Fly?

August 29, 2013 by

Paper Airplane ID-100186035

(Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

By Larry Paxton

The saga of the US Airways(PBR188) and American Airlines(PBR109) merger continues to drag out with the US Justice Department filing antitrust suits earlier this month against the $11 billion deal.

The primary concerns of the Justice Department are that the merger would provide fewer choices for consumers and drive up fares because of increased costs. Also, with the merger the new American Airlines would also have significantly more gates at some airports, such as the Washington Dulles Airport where they would have three quarters of the gates. A new argument is that American Airlines, which is in bankruptcy, just had its first profitable quarter in quite some time. The thinking is that they are now demonstrating that they are capable of going it alone and don’t need to merge.

Of course, the airlines claim that just the opposite would be true, and that another benefit of the merger is that increased competition would result.

It was anticipated that the merger would be completed during this 3rd quarter. The airlines have said that any delay would provide additional problems because US Airways operations are already in the process of moving to the Dallas-Ft Worth area, personnel are putting in bids for houses there, selling theirs in the Phoenix area, and many other complications.

Because of the suit the next court date is scheduled for November, but the Justice Department has asked for a delay until March, 2014, to adequately prepare their case. The airlines say they are ready to present their case and there is no reason why the Justice Department shouldn’t be ready as well.

There have also been some indications that the Justice Department might be willing to settle. The airlines might have to give up some gates and some other concessions are possible.

As a person who flies a few times a year for both business and pleasure it is hard to know how this should be resolved and the impacts it will have on me and my fellow travelers. The concerns from both sides seem legitimate, but, as usual, the time it takes to negotiate and resolve the issues seem to be taking much too long. It is another classic case of big capitalistic companies clashing with big government to figure out what is best for the confused and sometimes helpless consumer. I wish us well.

(Larry Paxton is President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC, which provides the popular The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Report, tracking over 1,000 of the largest US publicly traded companies through its business research arm, www.PBRMarketTools.com.)

 

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: , , ,

The PBR1000 2nd Quarter Review

July 15, 2013 by

Activity during the 2nd quarter for The PBR1000 was pretty typical with deals in the media, healthcare, telecom, food processing, and high tech arenas. One of the more intriguing acquisitions is China’s Shuanghui trying to get the US’ Smithfield Foods. It will be interesting to see how the US government impacts this. Of course, Berkshire Hathaway was busy and perhaps we can take some comfort in knowing that when we buy Heinz Ketchup we are now helping support Warren Buffett.

Here’s a recap of the 2nd Quarter activity for The PBR1000, in reverse date order, and all PBR rankings are for the 2nd quarter only:

June 28, 2013: News Corporation(PBR87) completes split into two companies. The successor organizations are 21st Century Fox and News Corp.

June 24, 2013: Tenet Healthcare(PBR258) is acquiring Vanguard Health(PBR402) for $21/share, $1.73 billion, to create the 2nd largest hospital system in the US, behind HCA Holdings(PBR79). Expected to close by the end of 2013.

June 7, 2013: The H J Heinz Co(PBR221) is acquired by Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) & 3G Capital, $72.50/share, transaction valued at $28 billion.

May 31, 2013: Freeport-McMoran(PBR147) completes the acquisition of Plains Exploration & Production Co(PBR735).

May 29, 2013: China meat producer Shuanghui International offers $34/share, $4.7 billion, to acquire Smithfield Foods(PBR202), the largest pork processor and hog producer in the world.. Expected to close 2nd half of 2013.

May 29, 2013: MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5), signs a definitive agreement to acquire NV Energy(PBR658) for $23.75/share, $10 billion transaction. Expected to close during the 1st quarter of 2014.

May 28, 2013: Fidelity National Financials(PBR341) to acquire Lender Processing Services(PBR872) for $33.25/share, $2.9 billion. Expected to close 4th quarter, 2013.

May 24, 2013: EnergySolutions(PBR926) merges with private equity firm Energy Capital Partners, no longer listed on the NYSE.

May 13, 2013: McGraw-Hill Companies(PBR498) changes name to McGraw Hill Financial after the sale of its McGraw-Hill Education division to Apollo Global Management(PBR682).

May 6, 2013: BMC Software(PBR820) to be acquired by private investment group that includes Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital and others, for $46.25/share, $6.9 billion. Expected to close by 2013 year end.

May 1, 2013: The merger between Deutsche Telekom/T-Mobile’s T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS Communications(PBR450) is completed, $4.05/share, $1.5 billion transaction value, new unit known as T-Mobile US Inc(NYSE: TMUS).

April 12, 2013: The Metals USA(PBR875) acquisition by Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co(PBR298) is completed.

The PBR1000 3rd Quarter Progress Report should be ready sometime the week of July 22, and there is already a lot of activity just in July already.

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: , , , ,
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